Gary Paul "none" Champagne

1952 - 2026

Gary P. Champagne

Gary Paul Champagne was born to Gerald B. and Elizabeth Trahan Champagne on October 9, 1952 in Abbeville, Louisiana and passed away peacefully on February 19, 2026 of natural causes at age 73 at his home. The family moved to San Marcos, Texas when Gary's father accepted a teaching position at Southwest Texas State University. The family lived in a duplex on West San Antonio Street until they moved to the Rio Vista area for the next seventy years. Gary Paul attended Campus Elementary School, which is now part of the Texas State University campus. He graduated from San Marcos High School in 1971. He was active in sports and enjoyed such sports as bull riding in his youth.

Gary had a wide variety of endeavors during his career but enjoyed hobbies and a number of passions. Bar-b-que Cookoffs was one of those passions that kept him consistently working to perfect his briskets for competition. He also spent devoted hours of time to the Maxwell Volunteer Fire Department and received great fulfillment through that service. He enjoyed staying in touch with his community and always knew the news of the day in Maxwell and San Marcos.

Gary is preceded in death by his father, Gerald Champagne and survived by his mother, Elizabeth (Betty) Champagne, a sister Lizbeth C. Johnson (husband Gary and daughter Jessica Clement), a brother Thomas J. Champagne (daughters Laura Morgan and Mary Champagne) and six great-nieces and nephews (Adelaide and Reece Clement, Lola and Olive Mogan, Cannon and Barrett Sowell).

Gary was close to a number of individuals he felt were like his own.

Those include Samatha Steveson and her sister Tabitha Palmese and Darren Cooper, son of Elizabeth Cooper and their extended families. He also appreciated his friends, especially Roy Thomas and Ron Schulenburg.

February 19, 2026